


Hitching a Ride

by FaeOrabel



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures (Harry Potter), Dragon hunting, F/M, Hermione Granger & Draco Malfoy Friendship, Hermione is studying the Pack, I just call it soulmates, Imprint on Hermione, Melting Pot Christmas in July, Ministry of Magic Employee Draco Malfoy, Ministry of Magic Employee Hermione Granger, Minor Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Mutual Pining, POV Hermione Granger, Sassy Draco Malfoy, but ew, soulbond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25396363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaeOrabel/pseuds/FaeOrabel
Summary: When Hermione is in Forks studying the wolves, she gets called away on an emergency assignment. She tries to tell Paul at the last second because her feelings for him are hard to deny, but also hard to admit. Paul has other plans and decides to hitch a ride on a little dragon hunting adventure.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Paul Lahote
Comments: 6
Kudos: 47
Collections: Christmas in July 2020





	Hitching a Ride

**Author's Note:**

> hi hello~
> 
> this little piece is written for Melting Pot's Christmas in July event,
> 
> I got Ferris Wheel and Altiplano, Bolivia as prompts. 
> 
> big love to GaeilgeRua for looking this over and making such a cute piece of art for me~
> 
> enjoy~
> 
> xoxox

**Hitching a Ride**

_by FaeOrabel_

* * *

_ Granger,  _

_ There’s been a dragon sighting in Altiplano, Bolivia. In the mountains. We need you to go and relocate it to the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary. We are relatively certain it is an adolescent. Nevertheless, we will be sending a team of two wranglers from the RDS ahead of you. Please be sure to catalogue the breed and any other necessary information. We are sure you will be able to track and relocate the dragon swiftly and then you are permitted to return to Forks to continue your research with the Seattle Branch of MACUSA.  _

_ Should it take you longer than a month, please send me an owl, and we will allot you more funds and necessary equipment.  _

_ I have enclosed your Portkey. It is set to activate on 31 July at 9:00 pm. That should be adequate time to get your affairs in order and let your wolves know that you will be gone for a while. If they need to reach you, you may give your liaison this Ministry owl that I have sent along. Please send your personal owl at your earliest convenience to accept your assignment.  _

_ The Extraordinary and Very Handsome, Draco Malfoy _

_ Creature Relocation Branch _

_ Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures _

_ Ministry of Magic _

_ PS. How are things going with your wolf, hm? Or are you still under the assumption that he is not yours?  _

* * *

  
  


_ Draco, Royal Pain in my Arse, _

_ I accept my assignment, but feel I must remind you that I am not your only researcher. (You could’ve sent someone else, you prat. I know you’re only sending me because you want pictures.) Lucky for you, I’m not at an integral part of my research here in Forks and am happy to take a small break to find your dragon.  _

_ But if this takes longer than a week, I am sending you a Howler.  _

_ Hermione Granger _

_ Research and Development Branch _

_ Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures _

_ Ministry of Magic _

_ MACUSA, Seattle Location _

_ PS. Call him “my wolf” again, and you won’t get a single picture of the dragon.  _

* * *

  
  


Hermione and Paul Lahote were at the local fair. She thought this would be a fun last day for them before she had to leave and hunt down a dragon that may or may not exist. She knew following leads and sightings were important, but she hated that they could sometimes be people’s imagination, and did not feel like going on a wild goose chase in the middle of important research. 

She had started this project almost a year ago, looking for any creature that could help further the study of werewolves. When MACUSA sent back word that their Seattle Department had picked up word of shapeshifts who have always taken on the form of a wolf and have genes that show werewolf ancestry, she jumped on the opportunity. The first couple of months after beginning their correspondence was full of logistics. Where Hermione would live, how she’d make contact, would she have anyone with her, which Ministry would provide funds for what. It was all very tedious but necessary. 

Now, Hermione has lived just outside of La Push for three months, on the edge of a little town called Forks, Washington. She has checked in regularly with the Seattle Branch of MACUSA and sent weekly reports to her head of the DRCMC in England. 

She wasn’t expecting to actually befriend any of the wolves, but they had been surprisingly open and friendly with her, despite being a closed and secret culture. When they had heard that she was doing this in order to help people like them, their cold demeanour had warmed considerably. 

Hermione could call most of them her friends, but Paul was so much more. He had grown on her from the very first time she had met him. Having heard he was the angriest and least stable of the Pack had made her wary, but he had defied all of her expectations. 

She made the mistake of mentioning him in a Floo call to Harry and Draco, and now Draco wouldn’t leave her alone about him. But what was she supposed to do? Yeah, she utterly adored him, and she could see them being together, but he lived here, and her life was in England. Plus, she was constantly travelling for her job. 

Draco loved pointing out how all her worries were rubbish: that magic made it way easier for her to travel to visit, that she had made a name for herself in MACUSA and Harry could literally create a job for her there with the right word to the right person, and that Paul lived longer than the average human, so Draco couldn’t imagine her being away for a couple of months out of a couple of hundred years together would really be a problem. 

Hermione’s response was usually to launch something through the Floo at him. 

Besides, Paul hadn’t made any moves, so what if he didn’t even see her that way?

They spend most of their time together, and he had become her somewhat “liaison” between her and the wolves, but that didn’t mean he felt the same way about her. It hurt a little bit for Hermione to think about when her project ended, and she’d have to leave. She knew it was silly, having only known him for three months, but they spent literally every day together, and he had become a comfortable part of her routine. 

Tonight, they were in line for the Ferris Wheel. Hermione’s Portkey would activate in twenty minutes, and she was hoping they’d make it on the ride by then.

“I thought you didn’t like heights,” Paul teased and bumped her hip with his.

“I don’t like flying, I never said anything about heights,” Hermione joked back and bumped his hip a little harder than he bumped her. 

“Oh, darn, and I was so looking forward to having to comfort you at the top,” Paul winked at her. 

He was always saying things like that, but she had heard he was a flirt, so she never knew how to take his idle teasing. Usually, like now, she blushed. 

“You’re an idiot,” she giggled. 

They gave the operator their tickets and crawled into a carriage. They sat on opposite sides of the carousel, but Hermione really wanted to be sitting right next to him like the couple that got on before them. 

“So, Paul—”

“So, Hermione—”

They both started at the same time and then cut off and chuckled at the other. Paul nodded at her to go first, so she took a deep breath and steeled herself. She had to tell him about Bolivia. 

“I got a new assignment,” Hermione started. 

“Wait, what?” Paul asked, “Does that mean you’re leaving? When?”

“Tonight. The Portkey is going to go off in about five minutes,” Hermione sighed. 

“But you can’t leave, I haven’t even—”

“It won’t be forever,” she interrupted him. He sat back in his chair and blew a large breath out. “I just have to go to Bolivia for a little while and track down a dragon. Once I get it relocated to Romania, I’ll be right back here.”

“A dragon?” Paul’s eyes got comically wide. 

“Yeah, but it’s just a baby. No real danger, yet,” Hermione smiled and tried to comfort him. 

“But what about after that? When this project of yours is over, you’ll have to leave for good,” Paul mumbled and looked out over the fair. It was in a large parking lot and had mostly just games and small attractions. The Ferris Wheel was the biggest thing there, so it was taking a bit to get to the top since every carriage was getting filled with people. 

“Probably,” Hermione whispered. 

“What if you didn’t? What if you had a reason to stay?” Paul asked quietly. 

“What do you mean?” Hermione asked, but looked at her watch. She took the little coin out of her pocket and unwrapped it from the bit of cloth surrounding it. 

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you, Hermione, but I don’t really know how to,” Paul rubbed the back of his neck. She could tell he was starting to get agitated. 

“Well, you don’t have to right now. I  _ will _ be back, Paul, and we can talk as soon as I land. You figure out how you want to say it, and I’ll listen. I promise,” Hermione smiled. 

Paul got up, and the carriage rocked a little, making Hermione grab the railing and Paul land a little hard on the seat next to her. Once they stopped swinging, they shared a chuckle, and Paul’s cheeks reddened slightly at their proximity. 

“Listen, Hermione,” Paul started.

“When I get back, Paul. I have to go in—” she looked at her watch, “thirty seconds.”

Paul sighed and searched her face for something. She didn’t know what he was looking for, but when he started smiling his little half-smile, she figured he found it because he started leaning in. Taking Hermione completely off guard, Paul brought a hand up to caress her cheek and pressed his lips against hers. Hermione’s eyes widened, and she stiffened before slowly closing them and melting into his embrace. 

He scooted closer to her and pulled her against him, making her gasp softly. He took advantage of her mouth parting a bit and ran his tongue slowly across her bottom lip. 

Suddenly, there was a great pull behind her navel, and Hermione pulled away sharply. She grabbed onto Paul as tight as she could so he didn’t get thrown somewhere unintended by dropping off the Portkey. 

A couple of spins later and suddenly they were landing in a clearing on the top of a mountain in Altiplano, Bolivia. 

“Oh, shit,” Hermione gasped, looking around. 

“Well, that wasn’t my plan, but,” Paul shrugged and smirked at her. 

“Paul! You can’t be here, what about the Pack? I’m hunting a  _ dragon _ , for Merlin’s sake!”

“We just have to send Sam one of your owls or that spirit animal projection thing you do and he’ll be fine. It’s not like a job that I have to ask for days off. Besides, there hasn’t been an issue in years. And you said it yourself, there wouldn’t be any danger because it’s a baby,” Paul countered. 

“Well, I may have exaggerated a little, it’s more a teenager…” Hermione waffled as she started pacing, pulling at her hair. 

Paul chuckled and grabbed her hands to stop her from both actions. “Hermione, it’s fine! All the more reason for me to be here if it's gonna get a little dangerous.”

“You know very well that I don’t need protecting,” Hermione glared at him, reminding her of the time she and the Pack ran through some fun trials of their speed and strength. While not a magical creature, with her wand, Hermione could take even Sam down. 

Paul smirked, “I meant so I could kiss your wounds after a long day.”

Hermione stuttered. She was taken aback, but this time she was prepared when Paul leaned in and kissed her. Her arms snaked up and around his neck. Paul gripped her hips tightly and pulled her flush against him. 

Breathless, she pulled back when she heard a throat clear. Paul and Hermione snapped their heads around to the noise to see two people standing outside of a tent, watching them. 

“Miss Granger?” one of them asked. 

“Oh! Oh my gosh, yes. I’m so sorry. Call me Hermione,” she shook the hand of both man and woman, “and this is my… partner Paul.”

“We weren’t aware you’d be bringing someone along,” the man said, eyeing the two of them. 

“It was a last-minute addition,” Hermione said and threw a look at Paul, who just smirked back at her. 

“Is he any good at tracking?” The woman asked, smiling at them both, much warmer than the gentleman. 

“You could say that,” Paul answered with a goofy smile and a shrug. 

Hermione snorted and rolled her eyes. 

“Well, we just got here today, we set up a space for your tent right over there,” the woman showed them the flat ground and tarp they had set out. 

She then showed them around her tent with the guy following close behind. Their names were Poppy and Dirk, and they were a couple as well as Dragon Wrangling partners. Poppy did the tracking, while Dirk did the behavioural analysis and application. Poppy said Dirk could get a dragon to roll over and let him scratch its belly if he wanted to. Dirk said Poppy could track a dragon through even the thickest wilderness. 

Hermione was happy to have them on her team. After they went over the claims of the sightings, they had something to eat. Hermione and Paul had already, but they sat and enjoyed some conversation while Poppy and Dirk ate. 

Hermione had Paul help her set up their tent, and then they excused themselves for the rest of the night. 

“So, do you want to talk now?” Hermione asked, sitting on her couch in the little living area she had in her tent. Paul gaped at the magic for a second before shaking it off, expecting the weird that came with Hermione by now. 

He fell onto the couch in a heap and put an arm around her lazily. “Well, I think I made it pretty clear what I want.”

“Are you sure? I mean, do you know what you’re asking of me?” Hermione sighed. 

“I’m asking you to be my girlfriend, everything after that we can deal with as it comes,” Paul whispered, turning to her and placing a light hand on her cheek again. 

“But… Why me? Wouldn’t it be easier for you to settle with some normal girl back on the rez?” Hermione asked. 

“Surely you feel it, too. I know you’re not dumb,” Paul’s thumb lightly stroked her cheekbone, and he leaned in, getting close but not kissing her fully. 

“What is it?” Hermione whispered back, “Wizards call it a soulbond, but what is it for you?”

“The closest thing to a soulmate the wolves will ever get,” Paul smiled and pressed a light kiss to her nose. “Before you, I was constantly angry. Always getting into fights and losing my temper. But as soon as I saw you, I felt calm for the first time in my life. Like nothing could phase me.”

“Paul…” Hermione sighed. She didn’t know how this would work or even if it could. She was happy that he felt something for her, too, but it just seemed too good to be true. 

“Be mine, Hermione. Everything after that will just be part of the adventure. I don’t care if you leave every other month or week or day. As long as you come home to me, I’ll be happy.” He finally pressed his lips to hers, drinking her in. Hermione threw caution to the wind and kissed him back with abandon. She climbed onto his lap, Paul gripping her hips tightly once again and grinding up into her centre. 

He carried her to the small bedroom, and they made promises to each other for the rest of the night. 

It only took a week to find the dragon and relocate it—one of the most successful relocations they’d had. Hermione took a full-time job working between MACUSA and the Ministry, Draco was smug about that one. But Harry got him to stop gloating by the second time they visited her in Forks. 

With the help of the wolves, specifically Paul, Hermione’s research went on to change the relationship between lycanthropes and their inner wolves forever. 

  
  



End file.
